Matthew 7 Verse 7 Knock

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Short Summary
The discourse emphasizes the spiritual journey of entering and continually dwelling in the presence of God, beginning with the initial act of “knocking” as a symbol of consecration and commitment to Him. It highlights ongoing fellowship with the Father, Son, and fellow believers, the importance of continual seeking through scripture study, serving others, and developing Christlike character marked by the fruits of the Spirit. Ultimately, it reflects on the mutual desire between God and believers to maintain intimate fellowship both in this life and eternally.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Discourse on “Knocking at the Door”

Introduction to the Concept of Knocking:
– The discourse begins with the analogy of someone knocking at a door, highlighting that unlike in everyday life where caution is needed, our Heavenly Father warmly welcomes those who sincerely desire to enter His presence.
– The scriptural process to approach God involves *asking*, *seeking*, and *knocking*, which are sequential and represent different actions: asking with the mouth, seeking with the eyes, and knocking with the hands.
– The focus of this discourse is on *knocking*, understood first as the initial step in one’s spiritual journey and second as a continual daily practice.

Knocking as the Beginning of the Spiritual Walk:
– Knocking symbolizes the act of consecration—giving oneself fully to God to do His will.
– When God “opens the door” by accepting this consecration, the believer enters into a covenant relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
– Jesus’ teaching in John 10:7-11 is cited to illustrate this:
– *John 10:7-10* – Jesus declares Himself as “the door of the sheep,” through whom one gains salvation, freedom, and abundant life.
– *John 10:11* – Jesus is the “good shepherd” who lays down His life for the sheep.
– Entering through this door means dwelling in “green pastures of life-giving truth” and enjoying fellowship with God, Jesus, and fellow believers.

Fellowship Resulting from Knocking and Entering:
– Fellowship occurs on three levels:
– With the Father,
– With His Son, Jesus Christ,
– With fellow believers (“the little flock”).
– 1 John 1:3, 7 is referenced to emphasize this fellowship:
– “That you also may have fellowship with us,” and,
– “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.”
– The initial knocking thus results in entering “the house of the Lord,” beginning a lifelong journey.

Scriptural Affirmations of Entering the House of the Lord:
– Psalm 92:13: “Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.”
– Psalm 122:1: “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
– The speaker expresses personal joy and encourages the audience to appreciate the honor of entering God’s holy house.

Daily Knocking – Continuing the Journey:
The discourse then outlines four key aspects of daily knocking and entering the house of the Lord:

1. Maintaining Fellowship:
– Continuing fellowship with God, Jesus, and other believers is essential.
– Psalm 133:1-2 highlights the beauty and blessing of brethren dwelling together in unity.
– Believers are encouraged to regularly “knock at the door” by participating in Christian fellowship.

2. Continual Seeking of God’s Word:
– Growth in knowledge is vital.
– 2 Peter 3:18 encourages believers to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
– Colossians 1:9-10 exhorts believers to be filled with wisdom and spiritual understanding to walk worthily and bear fruit.
– Question posed: Are we knocking to gain deeper insights into God’s will for our lives?

3. Serving Within the House of the Lord:
– Serving others through ministry, gospel sharing, and personal example is crucial.
– Galatians 6:10: “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
– Galatians 5:13: “By love serve one another.”
– The importance of active service is emphasized, aligning with James’ teaching that “faith without works is dead.”

4. Developing Christlike Character:
– The development of love and other fruits of the Spirit is paramount.
– 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (Amplified Bible) stresses that without love, even great spiritual gifts and sacrifices are meaningless.
– Galatians 5:22-23 lists the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, fidelity, tolerance, self-control.
– The phrase “no law exists against any of them” implies these qualities are always right and beneficial.
– 2 Peter 1:5-8 encourages adding virtues to faith, promising that those who do so will be fruitful and productive in the knowledge of Jesus.
– 2 Peter 1:9 warns that lacking these qualities leads to spiritual blindness.
– 2 Peter 1:10-11 assures that practicing these virtues leads to a rich entrance into God’s everlasting kingdom.

Jesus Knocking at the Door of Our Hearts:
– Revelation 3:20 is cited to show a reciprocal knocking:
– “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and sup with him.”
– This illustrates that Jesus desires fellowship and intimate relationship with believers.
– Romans 8:16 is mentioned, affirming that God’s Spirit bears witness within believers, confirming their status as God’s children.

Eternal Perspective – Seeking to Dwell Forever in God’s House:
– Psalm 27:4 (Amplified) expresses a heartfelt desire to dwell in the house of the Lord all one’s life, to behold His beauty and meditate in His temple.
– The discourse closes with this aspiration, inviting the audience to commit to lifelong fellowship with God beginning now and continuing eternally.

Overall Themes and Application:
– The act of knocking is both an initial step and a continual process in the believer’s life.
– It symbolizes consecration, fellowship, growth, service, and character development.
– Believers are urged to actively engage in seeking God, serving others, and growing in Christlike virtues.
– There is mutual desire: believers knock to enter God’s presence, and Jesus knocks to enter their hearts.
– The ultimate goal is to dwell in God’s house forever, enjoying an intimate, ongoing relationship with Him.

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Key Bible Verses Referenced:

– John 10:7-11
– 1 John 1:3, 7
– Psalm 92:13
– Psalm 122:1
– Psalm 133:1-2
– 2 Peter 3:18
– Colossians 1:9-10
– Galatians 6:10
– Galatians 5:13
– James (Faith without works is dead)
– 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (Amplified Bible)
– Galatians 5:22-23
– 2 Peter 1:5-11 (Amplified Bible)
– Revelation 3:20
– Romans 8:16
– Psalm 27:4 (Amplified Bible)

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This discourse richly explores the spiritual significance of “knocking” as both the initiation and continual practice of entering and living in fellowship with God, highlighting scriptural foundations and practical applications for believers on their Christian journey.

Transcript

Somebody’s knocking at the door.

You know, these days, at least if you’re like we are at our house, when somebody knocks on the door, we kind of look out and see who it is, because these days you have to be a little more careful. But it’s not so with our Heavenly Father. All who sincerely desire to enter his presence and who follow the prescribed scriptural steps in doing so are welcomed by Him. These steps are being outlined in the verses that we’ve been considering this evening, asking, seeking, knocking, and as Brother Michael and Brother George have suggested, and with which I agree completely that, that these are sequential in many various ways.

And so our part is about knocking. You know, you ask with your mouth, you seek with your eyes, but you knock with your hands. Another action, isn’t it? We want to look at knocking from two standpoints. First, we want to look at it from the standpoint of the beginning of our walk with the Lord when we first gave our heart to Him.

And secondly, subsequent to that, we want to look at knocking from the standpoint of our day to day experiences of life. Because as again, Brother Michael and Brother George have suggested, these are continuous concepts and actions that we are to take at the beginning of our walk. The knocking. We believe the action that we took, the commitment that we made by knocking at the door of our Heavenly Father’s presence, can be identified as the giving of ourselves to him, consecration to do his will. When God opened the door to our knocking by accepting that consecration, what happened?

Well, first we walked, symbolically speaking, through that door, through that entrance represented by the acceptance of our Lord as our Savior, our Redeemer and, and our advocate. You know, Jesus used a similar illustration, a little different but similar, of entering through a door. In John chapter 10, beginning with verse 7, he said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers. But the sheep did not hear them.

I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. I am come. That they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. When we entered into covenant relationship with God through Jesus this door, we began to dwell in the green pastures of life, giving truth.

And as verse 10 stated, which we just read life more abundantly, new creature, life, that’s life more abundantly. We also discovered that not only was Jesus the door into this relationship, but beyond that door he was now our shepherd, the good shepherd, to guide us, to protect us, to Help us in the narrow way, and so as Jesus continued along this line in verse 11 of John 10, he said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. In addition to this we began to dwell and to have fellowship with other sheep.

Under this arrangement, our brethren a little flock, yet special in the sight of our Heavenly Father and His Son. The Apostle John wrote in 1 John chapter 1, verses 3 and 7, these that which we have seen and heard. Now he’s talking about Jesus here. That which we have seen and heard about Jesus. Declare we unto you that you also may have fellowship with us.

And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ, and verse 7 if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. Notice the three aspects of fellowship we began to experience when we knocked and that door was opened to us and we entered in by making an acceptable consecration. We entered into fellowship with the Father, fellowship with His Son, fellowship with one another.

If we had to summarize the result of our knocking at the beginning of our walk, we would say that it was the means by which we entered into the house of the Lord.

The psalmist gives us numerous beautiful references to this. We’d just like to read A couple Psalm 92:13 says, those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. Psalm 122:1 says, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. I think we all felt that this morning. I sure felt glad as I entered into this room and and saw all of you come into this room, entering into the house of the Lord.

What an honor it is to have entered this house, this holy place.

But at the beginning of our walk, that is all it was. It was the beginning of this process of this journey in the house of the Lord, this journey in the pastures of truth and righteousness.

There’s another aspect of this knocking and this entering into the house of the Lord that should be taking place each day of our consecrated walk. We want to list several points in this regard. Number one, as we recall the sentiments that we read earlier from John chapter 10 about being with the shepherd and with the other sheep. We’re reminded that our fellowship with the Father, with His Son, and with one another continues throughout the course of our life. That is, as long as we desire to remain in that blessed condition of sonship and unity with one another in the house of the Lord.

This reminds us of Psalm 133:1 2 behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard that went down to the skirts of his garments.

Yes, we are all desirous and should remain in fellowship one with another throughout the course of our Christian walk under that one anointing within the house of the Lord, and so let us ask ourselves, are we knocking at the door of the house of the Lord at every opportunity to meet together in the bonds of Christian fellowship with our shepherd and with the other sheep of the little flock? Let us be sure. Let us examine ourselves to make sure that we are taking advantage of these opportunities as often as possible. Our second point as we abide under this one anointing in the house of the Lord, this should help us to continue our searching.

As Brother George pointed out, our seeking in the study of God’s holy word to grow in knowledge, as the apostle Peter tells us in two Peter 3. 18.

The apostle Paul likewise counsels us in Colossians the first chapter, verses 9 and 10. He says, we do not cease to pray for you and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God that implies growth and development in this area of our Christian walk, increasing in the knowledge of God. Again we ask ourselves, are we knocking at the house of the Lord to gain a greater insight into his plans and into his purposes, especially as they relate to our personal walk with God and with his Son. Point Number three. We are also to be servants in the house of the Lord that we have entered into.

We do this by ministering to our brethren, by dispensing the message of the Gospel, and by our own personal example to our brethren, to our family, friends, work, associates, neighbors, and yes, even when necessary, even to our enemies, as Paul said in Galatians 6:10, as we have therefore opportunity, let us do good and to serve really all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith, that is, to those dwelling with us in this house of the Lord, and In Galatians chapter 5, the previous chapter, verse 13, Paul simply puts it this way, by love serve one another.

Here again we ask ourselves the question, are we knocking in the sense of looking for ways to serve in the house of the Lord? We should be dwelling together in unity is wonderful it’s desired, continuing to study God’s word and to seek it and to search it out is also necessary. But we must be active to the extent of our ability and our opportunity, remembering, as James said, that faith without works is dead point number four. Perhaps this is the most important aspect of our daily knocking and entering into the house of the Lord, and that is, that is what relates to the development of a Christlike character.

We remember what the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:1 3 before he started talking about love. What did he say? I want to read this from the Amplified Bible, 1 Corinthians 13:1 3. If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love for others growing out of God’s love for me, then I have become only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal, just an annoying distraction, and if I have the gift of prophecy and speak a new message from God to the people, and understand all mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have all sufficient faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love reaching out to others, I am nothing.

If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good at all.

Now, we’re all familiar with the listing of the fruits of the Spirit that Paul gives us. In Galatians, chapter 5, verses 22 and 23, he lists nine aspects of this Christlike character.

Reading this from the Phillips translation, it says the Spirit produces in human life fruits such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, fidelity, tolerance, self control, and then notice what he says, and no law exists against any of them. Have you ever thought about that phrase, no law exists against any of these fruits of the Spirit? You know what that means?

It means we can’t go wrong. You can’t go wrong. If there’s no divine law against something, we cannot go wrong. If we are seeking to develop, to internalize, and to display these qualities, you know, in our fellowship, which we’ve already talked about, we might at times say or do something which later we regret in our studies. We may from time to time misapply a scripture in our service.

We may stumble in our efforts to witness to the gospel, but we can never go wrong in developing as much as possible the fruits and the graces of the Spirit that Paul mentions. Now, Peter makes a similar statement after he lists the various graces of the spirit in 2 Peter chapter 1, 5, 7. You know, after encouraging us to add to our faith, virtue and knowledge, and temperance and patience, and godliness and brotherly kindness and love. Then in verse eight, he says, if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know what he’s saying?

He’s saying just what Paul said. You cannot go wrong. You cannot go wrong by developing these qualities and abounding in them. He says, you will not be barren. You will not be unfruitful.

Are we daily knocking and entering the house of the Lord for the purpose of developing and increasing in these qualities that Paul and Peter have enumerated? If we are lacking in these efforts, then we are warned by Peter in verse 9 of 2nd Peter 1, reading again from the amplified translation, for whoever lacks these qualities is blind, shortsighted, closing his spiritual eyes to the truth, having become oblivious to the fact that he was cleansed from his old sins.

Rather, let us be of those who then Peter speaks of in verses 10 and 11 where he says, if ye do these things, ye shall never fall for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

One more point we want to make regarding our daily knocking and entering God’s house, and this is sort of an interesting reference. It’s Revelation 3:20. Here the risen Lord is speaking to the Laodicean church, and he states the matter in the opposite way. Instead of us knocking, it is the Lord here that is knocking, and he says, behold, I, the Lord, stand at the door and knock.

If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him, and he with me. This tells us that just as we desire to knock and enter into the house of the Lord, Jesus also stands at the door of our hearts.

He knocks. He desires to enter in, to sup with us, to join us as we partake of the spiritual food which he has provided for us and has blessed us with. You know, this is a beautiful thought, and it’s sort of echoed by Paul in Romans 8:16 where he says, God’s spirit, which is manifest through his Son, God’s spirit beareth witness with our spirit. In other words, he’s entered into our hearts.

Just as we have entered into his house, he has entered into our hearts through his spirit, showing that we are children of God.

In conclusion, we want to read a couple more verses that just takes this one final step further. You know, we’ve talked about knocking to enter the house of the Lord. The beginning of our walk. We’ve talked about our further application of these thoughts as they apply throughout our life. But what about beyond this?

What about the rest of our life that lies before us? And what about beyond the veil? We desire to enter the house of the Lord and stay there for forever.

Psalm 27:4 says from the Amplified one thing I have asked of the Lord, and that I will seek. There’s that word seek again, and the Word asked one thing I have asked of the Lord, and that I will seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord in His presence all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty, the delightful loveliness, and majestic grandeur of the Lord, and to meditate in his temple.

May the Lord bless each of you. Amen.

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